Advertisement

Concert reviews Music

Gorillaz and guests made electric connections at the ACC

GORILLAZ at the Air Canada Centre, Monday, July 10. Rating: NNNN


Gorillaz have always pushed a dense mythology, be it through the storylines that each album revolves around or the two-dimensional characters drawn by Jamie Hewlett that make up the cartoon band. But on their Humanz tour at the Air Canada Centre, those aspects of the project were set aside in favour of aptly “human” connections and the immediacy of the live version of the English band – though there was also no shortage of spectacle.

The concept of electricity kept creeping in, highlighting the duality of a force that has the power to connect us (as heard in the lyrics of Stylo and Demon Days) as well as undermine those connections (Rhinestone Eyes, Charger). Damon Albarn and his 12-piece ensemble found a through-line across five albums’ worth of material, both thematically and sonically, that made their criticisms of capitalism ring true in a 20,000-person stadium.

The tension between songs for the end times and the conditions that wrought them was communicated visually in effective ways. Despite being a bunch of cartoons, Gorillaz are rarely, if ever, cartoonish to the point of distancing themselves from their subject matter. In fact Albarn’s writing is often achingly earnest. So seeing the band perform beneath what looked like a beady, watchful eye suspended above the stage was a continuous reminder that these songs work to connect people in the face of ever-present oppression.

They performed mostly in low light, leaving concertgoers to focus on projections on a larger screen behind the band. The “eye”  corresponded to the visuals on the larger screen and had an ominous gaze, whether it look the form of a literal eye, spinning helicopter blades, hypnotic circles or the sun. 

The human connections were most apparent when Albarn and Co. were joined by guests. 

Kilo Kish sang on 19-2000 and Out Of Body, and also guested in Vince Staples’s opening set. She was especially effective on 19-2000 – her presence allowed for it to be performed for the first time on this tour, and for the first time live since 2010. Though it dates back to their 2001 debut and was originally sung by Tina Weymouth and Miho Hatori, the song takes a critical stance on conspicuous consumption, which fits alongside newer material.

Staples returned to take the lead on his Humanz guest appearance, Ascension. He also filled in for Del the Funky Homosapien along with Little Simz on the single that started it all back in 2001: Clint Eastwood. Bandleader Albarn was on point vocally, and when not the primary singer, he deftly jumped over to piano or grabbed a keytar or his trademark melodica.

In his review of Humanz, NOW’s Kevin Ritchie rightfully described album closer We Got The Power as rote, but live, the song’s rock-by-numbers was swapped for a computerized riddim and elevated by Little Simz’s inspired rhymes, which dialed up the urgency and bolstered its collective vision.

music@nowtoronto.com | @therewasnosound

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted